Head constable commits suicide in Karnataka

Bengaluru: A head constable of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) allegedly committed suicide at Kalaburgi city in north Karnataka, police said on Friday.

“Anna Saibanna Gamaga, 50, was found hanging in his police quarters by his family members, who alerted us,” the police official said.

Though Gamaga belonged to the Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP), he was on deputation to the IRB and posted at Vijayapura in north Karnataka.

“As Gamaga was not happy working with IRB, he applied for transfer back to KSRP with posting at Kalaburgi but his application was pending and not considered till date,” the official said, quoting a family member.

Gamaga, who hails from Chittapur in Kalaburgi district, was on leave for 15 days as he was indisposed and was staying in a quarter allotted to him.

“We have booked a case of unnatural death and sent Gamaga’s body for autopsy. We have to investigate the case to find out why he took the extreme step of ending life, as no suicide note was found in his room,” the official added.

Gamaga’s suicide comes a fortnight after Mangaluru Deputy Superintendent of Police M.K. Ganapathi, 51, committed suicide on July 7 at Madikeri in Kodagu district, while two days before that, Chikkamagaluru Deputy Superintendent of Police Kalappa Handibag, 34, was found hanging at his in-laws house at Belagavi.

On Wednesday, woman Sub-Inspector Rupa Tambad at Vijayanagar police station in Bengaluru attempted to commit suicide by swallowing sleeping tablets in excess on the grounds that she was being harassed by her Senior Inspector Sanjeev Gowda.